Hospice West Auckland

May 02,2023

Carving Out Happiness

Walking into Amanaki Prescott’s house, the beauty and craftmanship of dozens and dozens of carvings is overwhelming - it’s hard to know where to look. Sculpted timber features in almost every piece of furniture and on every inch of wall. Each room radiates with the rich timber tones and sleek lines of his sculptures, an Aladdin’s cave of natural beauty. Wh...

April 28,2023

Hospice Social Workers: We Can Help

Social workers Patricia Gosper and Naoki Ikeda are an integral part of Hospice West Auckland’s social support team. With no two days – or even two hours! – the same, these busy and rewarding roles aim to support with life challenges and practical issues that patients, carers and whanāu are facing. “Every day I wake up and I have no idea how this day i...

April 26,2023

Hidden Treasures: Meet Michelle, Manager of Helensville Hospice Shop

Michelle has managed our Hospice Shop in Helensville for seven years and has a long and heart-warming history with Hospice West Auckland. She originally began as a receptionist at Hospice House in Beach Road and helped with the patient companion programme that matched companions with families and maintained regular contact with care givers. In 2011 she became part of the team...

April 11,2023

Meet Patient and Family Volunteer Phoebe

Phoebe had been thinking about doing some volunteering for a while. She wanted to create an element of service in her life; to be able to contribute to a greater purpose. She was especially interested in the possibility of volunteering for Hospice. She had always felt that although dying is a natural part of life, it’s something that is rarely discussed until you have n...

March 20,2023

Hospice Surrounded Us When Family and Friends Couldn’t

When Pisila’s beloved husband Sateki was diagnosed with cancer, the aggressive treatment regime that followed was initially successful and resulted in a year’s remission. But the dreaded pain returned and the couple’s worst fears were confirmed with a devasting stage 4 diagnosis. Despite exploring all possible treatments, Sateki’s health continue to de...

March 13,2023

All Seasons Pharmacy’s Palliative Care Initiative

All Seasons Pharmacy in Te Atatu South has been working closely with Hospice West Auckland’s Poi Community of Care team on a programme to improve the quality of palliative care provided to our community. For over 30 years All Seasons Pharmacy has serviced the Te Atatu South community. Annually the pharmacy supports an average of 120 palliative care patients and their...

February 27,2023

Hospice Through Caitlin’s Lens

There are so many inspiring people in our community who support Hospice West Auckland in different ways. Caitlin Lorigan is one of our young supporters who has turned her passion for photography into a fundraising opportunity. Caitlin Lorigan first became involved with Hospice West Auckland in 2017 as part of the year-long Rangatahi Volunteer Youth Ambassador programme, an...

February 20,2023

Tackling Life Head-On

“Joan was larger than life,” says John, a small smile breaking through his heartache. “You could hear her laugh from all over the place. We were together for 50 years and she was the light of my life, my soul mate.” Joan and John met in 1972 and married a year later. She was a straight-talker with a big personality – you always knew where you s...

January 23,2023

A Very Special Volunteer

Zita Kay is one of Hospice West Auckland’s very special volunteers. She first started volunteering for Hospice in 1988, and although she has just celebrated her 88th birthday she is still donating her time to the organisation! Over the years Zita has done ‘anything and everything’ for Hospice, including answering the phone and front of house, Christmas Trees...

January 10,2023

Being There For You Virtually

Shelly Moloney is the driving force behind Hospice West Auckland’s Virtual Services, the innovative approach to enhancing palliative care provision to the West Auckland community. Shelly has almost 20 years’ experience in palliative care and has been associated with Hospice West Auckland since 2010 when she joined the team as a Clinical Nurse Specialist.  T...